If the crowd at the Barrow County Republican Party BBQ was any indication, the GOP is fired up.

With just over two months to go until the November general election, the candidates on hand at the Aug. 21 gathering were focused on one thing – getting Republicans to the poll.

“We’ve got a great opportunity this year to completely turn this state red,” said Republican Secretary of State candidate Brian Kemp. “We’ve got an opportunity to win some of these down ballot races that we have not had in a long time.”

Kemp’s optimism for a strong Republican showing in November was shared by other candidates in attendance, including 7th district Congressional nominee Rob Woodall.

Woodall, who lost Barrow County to Jody Hice in the runoff, praised Barrow County Republicans for their strong turnout at the polls.

“We have an opportunity to put conservatives in offices that we have never before had them in,” Woodall said. “It’s starts right here at the local level.”

Woodall may have been preaching to the choir, but he and the other candidates are taking nothing for granted this election season.

“Roy Barnes is taking this very seriously,” said public service commission candidate Tim Echols. “The impact of us losing this governor’s race is catastrophic. In our state, the governor has enormous power.”

Barrow County Republican Party chairman Ken Young and congressional candidate Rob Woodall enjoy a brief discussion prior to the start of Saturday’s stump speeches. Photo by Kristi Reed

Echols, along with the other candidates making stump speeches encouraged those in attendance to vote for Nathan Deal and get others to support the Republican nominee as well.

“We must get behind Nathan and get these undecided, swing, independent, tea party type people to see why Nathan is the guy,” Echols said.

Though Deal was unable to attend Saturday’s BBQ, the Gwinnett County chairman of his campaign, Ben Satterfield, spoke on his behalf. Satterfield thanked local voters for their support of Deal in the runoff and asked for their continued efforts heading into November.

“We’re not going to have it easy against Roy Barnes,” Satterfield said. “Nathan just wants to ask you to get out there and work for him and get him elected as our next governor.”

LOCAL CANDIDATES
In addition to the statewide candidates, Saturday’s BBQ at the Winder Lion’s Club featured the Republican nominees for several area races.

State Senate 47 nominee Frank Ginn was on hand seeking to gain support from a base that largely supported his opponent, Shane Coley, in the primary.

Ginn praised the local party for its work and said he was hopeful Republicans would see good results in the election.

State Rep. Tommy Benton (R-31) said he was confident the Republicans would do well.

“If we can get the President and the Congress to do a few more things, we ought to have this election locked up real quick,” he said.

Benton said the Republicans have the strongest slate of candidates the party has ever fielded in the state, but will face tough opposition from the Democrats.

“We need to make sure we get the vote out in November, we need to make sure we don’t take this for granted,” Benton said. “We’re going to keep up the good fight and make sure the state of Georgia remains the best place in the world to live.”

State Rep. Terry England and Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith were co-sponsors of the event. Photo by Jessica Brown

State Rep. Terry England (R-108) echoed the other candidates’ message regarding getting out the vote, but he also took time to emphasize what lies ahead for elected officials statewide as the economy continues to struggle.

“We’ve cut $3.5 billion out of the state budget over the last two years. We’ve got another $1.5 billion to go this coming year,” he said. “We’ve cut the fat out of government. We’re down to the meat and we’re down to the bone in a lot of cases. We’re doing all we can to manage the best we can.”

STRAW POLL
As is tradition at such political gatherings, the Barrow GOP conducted a straw poll Saturday to gauge member’s opinion on five questions and the 2012 presidential race.

When asked if endorsements of local candidates by national political figures affected their vote, 74 percent of those in attendance said no.

Sixty three percent of straw poll participants expressed support for phasing out the state personal income tax by adding sales tax to groceries.

An overwhelming majority – 83 percent – said individuals and employers should not be forced to participate in any health care system.

The straw poll also included two questions related to Barrow County Schools.

Participants were asked if a future Barrow County High School should be named after former President Ronald Reagan. Eighty percent of respondents said yes.

Poll respondents were also asked if Barrow County Schools should drop fall break week and start school one week later in order to reduce electricity costs for summer air conditioning. Sixtyseven percent voted in favor of the proposal.

For the last item on the straw poll, participants were asked to list their choice for the 2012 Republican candidate for President.

In total, nine names were suggested with Newt Gingrich emerging as the top vote getter with 37 percent of the vote. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee was supported by 18 percent of participants and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin finished third with 16 percent.

BIG BANG FOR BBQ BUCKS
The purpose of the annual GOP BBQ is to raise funds to support party operations throughout the year and showcase candidates for state and local races.

“We want to get people excited about the fall campaign,” said Ken Young, chairman of the Barrow County Republican Party. In his closing speech to BBQ attendees, Young explained why.

“We in the Republican Party are in an epic battle and it has been that way ever since our party was formed over 150 years ago,” he said. “It’s a battle between freedom and slavery. We have the ruling elite today who want to enslave us economically, morally, emotionally and every which way they can and it’s time for us to rise up and to say ‘no, we want to go back to a Constitutional government’.”

Young said Republicans are fighting for freedom, less taxes, equal opportunity and less government intervention in our personal lives.

“We’re against everything the democrats are putting out there,” he added. “A vote for Barnes is a vote for Obama. A vote for Thurmond is a vote for Harry Reid. A vote for Heckman is a vote for Pelosi.”

Young encouraged those in attendance to head to the polls in November and to tell their friends to vote as well.

“They’ve got to vote and make a stand for what’s right,” he said. “Every vote counts.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, My congratulations to Ken Young and his entire staff, for all of their hard work in helping to support all of the Republican Candidates who are currently running for office, and for those who ran during the primary election season.

Ken has done an excellent job keeping our party membership focused on supporting all of the Republican candidates who will be up for election in November, as well as focusing our collective efforts on getting out the Republican vote this fall.

Thank you Ken, for all of your efforts on behalf of our Republican Party this year.

What hate you idiot? Folks like you are the reason we have stupid laws such as "hate" crimes and racism still exists. This was a republican function, if you ain't one or don't support them FINE, but don't be chickensh@t on this vent and make an asanine statement under an anonymous name. You are just one of those who voted for the welfare monger running our country but won't admit it. Thats ok it ll be over soon and you can go back to "hating" on republicans again.

Thank you,
The only thing I would change is that they have never stopped hating republicans, this from people who say we should be accept all views.

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